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Zodiac signs with warnings from a fortune telling machine called Zoltar worrisome

CENTRAL OREGON COAST – It calls itself a suit sayer, but one customer simply calls “Zoltar” a crazy fortune-telling machine that uses Zodiac signs to worry people about their futures.

Somewhat strange “Zoltar” fortune telling machines are popping up and down the Oregon coast as an amusement for those willing to give this “suit sayer” a dollar that produces “your fortune” that those who tried it say “is never good news.” In fact, several dollars produced fortunes that feature “the reaming Zodiac signs for 2012;” including the current Zodiac sign of Taurus that runs until May 20 with this “Bull” symbol also featuring emerald as its gemstone with lucky numbers: 36, 37, 14, 7, 19 and 29." This Zoltar fortune also stated: “You are a strong believer in fate. You feel that you have no control over your destiny. You’ve had some trouble this year, and the remainder of 2012 will not be good for you.” In turn, others who’ve “consulted” this Zoltar fortune telling machine – that’s produced by a company a company in Nevada - warns customers that Zoltar’s suit saying advice is “for entertainment purposes only.”

At the same time, those who service other amusement machines say Zoltar is “old technology,” that goes back to Sixties carnivals when people like to have someone to tell their fortune, and it was much cheaper to have a machine to do it. In turn, many people today use various technology modes to search the ancient Zodiac for clues about their futures.

Also, one of Zoltar’s clever replies to those who risk a dollar for its fortune is: “It is your past that makes the essence of who you are today. Let Zoltar guide you with the Zodiac.”

Twilight Zone links to Zoltar

It was back 50 years ago when the popular TV show the “Twilight Zone” featured an episode titled “The Dummy” that aired on May 4, 1962, starring Cliff Robertson as a ventriloquist who has trouble controlling his dummy fortune telling friend that looks a lot like today’s fortune teller Zoltar.

The episode beings with the warning: "There is a sixth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the sunlight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called the Twilight Zone."

The Twilight Zone promo then goes to black; with a bearded puppet suit sayer - that looks a lot like the present day Zoltar - predicting all sorts of crazy and even worrisome things for those who consult it.

That was the Twilight Zone 50 years ago in May 1962, and now flash forward to 2012 and James and son Tim are putting a dollar bill into the slot for fortune teller “Zoltar” to dispense some wisdom about the future.

In turn, James reads what Zoltar has to say: “You should be aware of danger. You should take precautions. You should limit your travels.” Thus, James shook his head and told son Tim that “it’s a much of hooey. That Zoltar doesn’t know anything.”

The father later says that given today's technology being everywhere, he worries that young kids such as his son and others might think that machines really know something about the future. "We've gotten to the point where we trust technology and its machines for just about everything in our high-tech lives. Why shouldn't we believe a machine like this Zoltar? That's my worry."

Zoltar reveals what’s left of the 2012 Zodiac

While it’s known that someone stocks this Zoltar fortune telling machine with small yellow cards that it kicks out after a dollar bill has been deposited, “what’s strange,” adds James, “is Zoltar seems to know there’s just nine signs of the Zodiac left in 2012?”

For instance, James turns over his fortune from Zoltar and it lists the following with the same warning for the remainder of 2012. While James says he realizes this is the year of “that Mayan Prophecy” he adds “its nuts to scare people this way. What happened to happy fortunes?”

Also, others note that Zoltar "almost looks like one of those text-book Arab terrorists. And, what's that guy doing around here?"

As for the Zoltar fortune telling machines – that have been spotted in Oregon coastal communities of Astoria, Seaside, Newport, Florence, Coos Bay and Gold Beach – there’s been no reports of issues from customers who find these somewhat strange, Twilight Zone-ish fortune telling machines in “some very odd places.”

“I’ve checked the Zoltar’s out, and they’re often plugged into some very strange places in these towns where the machines are more or less sitting by themselves without knowing who’s making hay off of them,” explained James during a recent Huliq interview outside a Zoltar fortune-telling machine in the Florence Old Town area.

At the same time, some people claim that “Zoltar sort of moves and even smiles” when customers stick in a dollar asking this retro-Sixties suit sayer what’s really behind that turban, dark eyes and beard that warns those with Zodiac signs for the remainder of 2012 to “be aware of danger.”

Image source of a “Zoltar” fortune telling machine - that have been placed in Oregon coastal communities - as an amusement for those on vacation wishing to know their fortunes for 2012. Photo by Dave Masko